House Rules
By Right of Blood uses house rules to clarify how the system works or to accommodate changes for a persistent MUSH environment. In other situations, the house rules amend vague or rules-broken content. The house rules below supercede text in the published rulebooks. Don't hesitate to bring any questions to staff. Note, on game news files are always the most correct. General Rules Awareness Pending changes with release of M20. * Vampires can purchase Awareness. Humans (vanilla, no bells or whistles) can not purchase Awareness unless they have True Faith at 3 or higher. Mortal+ characters can not purchase Awareness past 2 without one or more dots in the following abilities: Channeling, Clairvoyance, Precognition, or Synergy. Characters with such abilities can purchase Awareness up to 4. * Awareness can detect the following: Disciplines except for Potence and Fortitude; the use of Numina which effects more than just the performing character; Gifts, Rites and Rituals (of any supernatural nature), Demonic Lores, Spirit Powers, and True Magic; the activation of magical items, and taking Apocalyptic form. * Characters with Awareness also get a Perception + Awareness roll against the Vampire's Wits + Stealth roll (both at 7) to detect the presence of a vampire under Obfuscate. Your Awareness level must be higher then the Obfuscate level being used or else you have no chance at all. * Regardless of whether a character has Awareness or if the roll even works, a player still get a Wits + Alertness vs. 7 to recall everything a vampire did if said vampire draws attention to itself under Obfuscate 2. You also still get a Perception + Alertness vs. 8 to track a character who only gets 3 successes using Obfuscate of 4 and thus is only ghost-like as described in the v20 core. * Awareness does NOT detect use of Potence, Fortitude, Numina that effects only the character, were-creatures shifting into forms without Rage expenditure, and demonic innate abilities (immunity to mind control or possession, resistance to illusions, healing factor, invocations). Detecting Vampires * To find out if someone is a walking corpse, perform an extended Perception + Medicine roll against difficulty 7 (unless IC circumstances should lower or heighten it) and score five total successes. ** If your target elects to spend 8-Humanity blood points before you accumulate 5 successes, then your efforts are in vain because it only takes blood point expenditure to look, act, and feel just like a real boy. ** If you do not follow Humanity, you can not actually pull off any 'disguise' regardless of exceptional circumstances unless you specifically have an ability that says, "This will let you pass as human!" because you are so far removed from the idea of being a human and have fallen so out of touch that you can not properly impersonate them, if it even occurs to you in the first place to do such a thing, due to how alien the nuances of human habits have become to you. * As for a mechanic to resolve whether a character notices ICly that they're being "scoped," it is a contested Perception + Empathy (vampire) versus Wits + Subterfuge (suspicious person). * Points in Awareness don't give any bonuses in Spot-A-Vamp rolls, but you can roll Perception + Awareness at DC 9. Eye Contact * A target trying to avoid eye contact can make a Willpower roll against a difficulty equal to the Dominate user's Manipulation+Intimidation (or other appropriate combinations for other Disciplines or specific situations, at the Storyteller's discretion). ** The difficulty may be reduced for mitigating factors: -1 in the case of the target obscuring his eyes slightly (such as closing her eyes or wearing dark sunglasses) up to a -3 for the eyes being completely unseen (such as with a thick blindfold or having her eyes torn out). ** Ultimately, however, it is up to the Storyteller to decide whether eye contact is established in a particular case. Languages * Languages are learned at a cost of 5 XP for full fluency. BROB uses an imposed wait period between purchases based on your permanent Intelligence score to simulate an in-game learning period. You are assumed to be studying in your downtime. Significant delays (such as Torpor) may increase this wait period, at ST discretion. ** Int 1 = 6 month wait ** Int 2 = 4 month wait ** Int 3 = 3 month wait ** Int 4 = 2 month wait ** Int 5 = 1 month Backgrounds ALKQN Status * Status (ALKQN) BG: This background measures your importance and influence in the ALKQN gang. ** Status 1: Member/Paricia ** Status 2: Secretary, Treasurer ** Status 3: Enforcer, Council Member ** Status 4: Calcique, Inca, Inti ** Status 5: Chapter King Influence *Our Influence system is detailed here. We use a house-ruled Influence system to support the possibilities opened by the "Influence" system presented in the Mind's Eye Theater Mind's Eye Theater books but simplified in order to tailor it to an "always running" environment like a MUX. *Our available Influence spheres are Academics, Culture (high society and the entertainment business), Crime (Street and Underworld), Finance, Industry, Law Enforcement, Media, Medical, Politics, and Religion And Occult (as one category). *We use a simple "chart of actions you can take plus guidelines for free-form actions" Influence system. If you have Influence X, you can take that action at rank X on the chart at no personal cost (unless the action states it costs something). The actions are of scaling impact, and so they also have a scaling limitation: you can take 1 influence action a week, and when you take an influence action at level X, you can't take another level X influence action for X weeks. You can, however, take other actions at a different level. This is so you don't do the same thing over and over. This simple rule is sufficient for preventing uninformed misuse. A storyteller has the power to tell you flat out "no" in cases of abuse of the system. New Background: Assets *Assets is a house ruled background which determines how much you're worth but doesn't include an income. This is for people who want to come in with expensive stolen goods or represent that they have objects but no job. These can be stolen, gifts, or just property you want. The difference between Assets and Resources is that Resources includes Assets but also gives you a monthly income with which to buy more equipment. Those with only Assets need to RP their way into their fortunes. **Assets 1: $1000 **Assets 2: $8,000 **Assets 3: $50,000 **Assets 4: $500,000 **Assets 5: $5,000,000 Combat Armor Stacking * If an individual is wearing layered or multiple types of armor, then they will use the soak rating of whatever armor has the highest rating and is covering the body part in question. So, if someone is wearing a kevlar vest and an individual calls a shot to the leg, that vest leaves them defenseless. If someone is wearing a trench coat with "reinforced clothing" soak stats over a kevlar vest and gets struck in the chest, where both are worn, they get to use whichever armor has the better soak stats. Durability * Melee objects have a Durability score. If your successes on a roll for damage equals or exceeds an object's durability score, the object breaks in that turn. You can still roll for damage on that specific turn as if it's a normal combat round: you broke it on what you attacked. Afterward, the object is useless until it is repaired. * This is specifically successes for damage, not how many dice you have to throw. So, if your damage pool (strength + carryover from to-hit successes) exceeds an object's durability, you still could use it, but there may be a chance that you break it. ** One round, you throw 7 dice to attack someone with a cheap knife you bought at the mall (durability 5). You score 4 successes: stab, stab, stab. But the next round, you roll 6 successes: it breaks. Reloading * If you want to reload and shoot in the same turn, the mechanics depend on the operation of your weapon. * Shotguns and Revolvers: If reloading your weapon requires you to re-establish your line of sight, split your dicepools. Reloading in the same turn as you fire with such a weapon is a Dexterity + Firearms versus difficulty 6. Failure means that you consume your current turn reloading. * Handguns: If reloading your weapon just requires you to drop the magazine and index a new one, such that you do not have to lower your weapon or break your line of sight, make your usual Dexterity + Firearms roll with one die removed. Disciplines Celerity * Celerity Actions can not be split. Celerity actions allow you to take on extra moves at the end of the turn without the "split an action" mechanic in the first place; don't split what you're already, in effect, splitting. Chimerstry * Chimerstry can be used to disguise appearance; however, the effects are very short-term and require continual spending of blood points as per the movement rules for Chimerstry 3. Dominate * Dominate 1 can be used while in combat. See "Eye Contact" as well. Obtenebration * Obtenebration and Potence: Tentacles add Potence to their strength. ** You cannot spend 1 BP to turn all Potence dice into successes for the turn, so you can summon 5 tentacles and know you're automagically doing 5 damage all the time if you have so much as Potence 1 and dump that into all your tentacles. * Arms Of The Abyss: Successive use of Arms Of The Abyss destroys the previous manifestation. If you summon tentacles in one combat round and then try to summon more, the previous "generation" of tentacles disappears. ** Tentacles summoned with Obtenebration 3 cannot independently relocate. The surface upon which the tentacle was summoned must instead be moved. So, if you were to summon a shadow in a box and kick the box, the shadow would still be 'growing' out of the box rather than stay fixed to wherever the box was. * Tenebrous Form: How much stuff can you take with you in Tenebrous Form? Your clothes, and all carried objects that are conceal class "P" or "J". If you can't effectively wear it, then it ain't coming with. Out of Clan Disciplines * A vampire can technically "teach" himself Potence, Fortitude, and Celerity without a teacher. As such, a Vampire has access to up to these disciplines without a teacher: his 3 in-clan disciplines, and the aforementioned 3. Any other discipline can not be learned without an IC teacher. * Teaching: The IC teacher must know that discipline as an in-clan discipline. ** To initiate learning of an out of clan discipline, a character must drink one point of vitae from their teacher (which will initiate a step-one blood bond under normal circumstances, meaning if you have a Vaulderie score of 5 or higher to the individual then no first-step blood bond occurs). ** Improving knowledge of a Discipline requires the IC presence of a teacher, but it does not require any further drinking of vitae. Some unscrupulous teachers might tell you otherwise; this is IC. ** Remember another clan must have a very good reason to teach their disciplines out of clan! If discovered, both the teacher and the student may end up paying consequences, including Final Death, depending on which discipline is learned. Tremere, Lasombra and Assamite don't just hand their talents out like candy. * System: Send in a +Request for an Out Of Clan Discipline once you have found an IC teacher. You may not use an NPC mentor or ally or whatever to teach yourself Out Of Clan disciplines. CC the job (+job/cc #=player) to the individual who has ICly agreed to teach you. We will check that at least a level-1 blood bond or appropriate vaulderie score to prevent it is in place and then conduct the XP spend. You may not purchase an additional point in an Out Of Clan Discipline until a waiting period of 1 week x Next Level has occured since the last expenditure (meaning it will take roughly 3 months to learn an Out Of Clan discipline to level 5). This applies to all out of clan disciplines. In-clan disciplines are not subject to this waiting period. * Character Generation: The only Out Of Clan disciplines you can have in Chargen regardless of backstory are Celerity, Fortitude, and Potence. Vicissitude * Major physical changes to your character or another caused by Vicissitude (including Malleable Visage and Fleshcraft) must be witnessed by an ST or logged in a +job. Storytellers will determine the appropriate difficulty for the task. * Major changes include: ** Changes to Appearance score. XP cost must be paid for increases. ** Any change that replicates a Merit or Flaw, like "Huge Size" or "Disfigured." ** Removing a Flaw or Merit. ** Major height or weight changes. ** Copying another PC or NPC's appearance. ** Disguises lasting more than a scene. ** Changes for an Alternate ID. ** Changes to avoid a hunt. * Exempted changes: ** Purely cosmetic changes that last a scene. ** Cosmetic changes that do not change appearance to a degree the AlternateID background is required. ** Minor, temporary alterations to NPCs. Merits and Flaws Cast No Reflection * The "Cast No Reflection" flaw extends to digital and analog cameras for Clan Lasombra as a curse. For those taking it as a 1-point Flaw, the default assumption is that you show up in cameras but not mirrors. A 1-point flaw should not be taken by someone to be used as a merit to get away with doing stupid shit because it won't show up on camera. Enchanting Voice * Enchanting Voice <2M or 4M> * For two points: When you talk, people listen. Your speaking skills command attention and engage an audience. Add one die to all Social rolls that involve persuasion. This does not include supernatural abilities. * For four points: You have an intense gravity to your voice. You can now add one die to Social rolls involving persuasion with supernatural abilities, like Disciplines. Lucky * The merit "Lucky" applies in intervals of one IRL month. This means you can re-roll on a botch once every thirty days. Natural Leader * Natural Leader <1M or 2M> ** For one point: You are gifted with a certain magnetism to which others naturally defer. You receive two extra dice when making non-supernatural Leadership rolls. You must have a Charisma rating of 3 or greater to purchase this Merit. ** For two points: You gain the two extra dice to supernatural Leadership rolls, such as for Disciplines. New Flaws Note that most of these flaws are not, strictly speaking, flaws. Rather, they're a way to give extra freebies to wanted character types, as an incentive. *'ALKQN <-2>' **You are a member of the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens Nation (ALKQN) gang in Miami. Active Sabbat or mortals may gain this bonus. *'Black <-2>' **You are African or African-American. To gain this bonus, you must have at least one black parent. *'Cuban <-2>' **You lived the majority of your life in Cuba or among to the Cuban expatriate community in southern Florida (post-Castro regime). To gain this bonus, you are ethnically and culturally Cuban. Kindred born in Cuba 200 years ago without any significant modern ties to the island, culture or its people will not get this benefit. *'Paricia's Elect <-1>' **You were a King or Queen in your mortal life. After catching the eye of your Sire for your exceptional merit within the ALKQN, you were given your Creation Rites. You may join a pack of other Paricia's Elect and benefit from special plot hooks. Active Sabbat may gain this bonus. *'Russian Mafia <-2>' **You are a member of the Russian mafia in Miami Beach. Active Camarilla or mortals may gain this bonus. *'Fiery Aura <-1>' **Your aura appears to be engulfed by flames. While this does not prevent someone from reading your emotional state with Auspex or another power, your aura's flaming state will perplex the average vampire. For a race with an atavistic fear of fire, this is not a blessing. This flaw can only be taken by vampires and ghouls. New Merits *'Concealed Handgun License <1>' **You have a license to legally carry a concealed handgun in Florida. This information is recorded in a state and federal database. *'FFL - Gunsmith <1>' **You have a license from the ATF to create, engrave, customize, refinish, and repair firearms. *'FFL - Pawnbroker <1>' **You have a pawnbroker's license from the ATF to legally sell firearms and ammunition. Pawnbrokers typically resell used firearms up to Resources 3. *'FFL - Dealer <2>' **You have a dealer's license from the ATF to legally purchase and sell firearms. A shop sells new and used firearms up to Resources 5. *'Past Life <1-5M>' **The character can remember one or more of her previous incarnations. This can be as simple as constant deja vu in places known to her past lives, or as complex as conscious, waking memories of being another person. Recollections often happen spontaneously due to trauma, extreme emotions or other triggers. **Past Life experiences can be unsettling. With experience, a character can learn to harness her insights through meditation and internal exploration. Exploration takes a turn or more of meditation. Once per session, the character may roll Past Life Merit against difficulty 8. Each success allows her to increase any Ability by one for purposes of a single roll. These dice add if she already has the Ability. **Botching a Past Life exploration roll results in a bombardment of memories or fixation on an engrossing recollection. Her personality may be temporarily subsumed by a past life for the remainder of the scene. ***1: Faint Past Life - Deja vu memories of one life. ***2: Weak Past Life - Dreamy, vague memories of one life, with deja vu from several lives. ***3: Moderate Past Life - You definitely recall other times and places, and vague flashes of former habits and beliefs. ***4: Strong Past Life - You possess clear memories of other existences, which you can summon up almost at will. ***5: Overwhelming Past Life - Sometimes you're not sure which life you're living. Category:Rules and Policies Category:Backgrounds Category:Merits and Flaws Category:Mechanics